Zoning variance
A zoning variance lets one property depart from a zoning ordinance. The ordinance stays in force for every other property. Some cities call that permission a variation or an adjustment. Relief from a setback is a different decision from permission for a use the zone prohibits.
Area relief, use relief, and a special exception
There is no national variance statute. The ordinance uses the word the state statute or the local code uses. Two splits change the answer before the city name does.
An area variance, also called a bulk or dimensional variance, departs from a physical standard such as a setback, height, or lot coverage. A use variance allows a purpose the zone prohibits. A special exception, special use, or conditional use allows a use the ordinance already contemplates. That third decision is not a variance.
Three decisions people file under the word variance
| Decision | What it allows | A statute that separates it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area variance | A use the zone allows, in a way the dimensional rules do not. | New York Town Law defines an area variance apart from a use variance and gives the area variance its own balance of benefit and detriment. | N.Y. Town Law § 267-b |
| Use variance | A purpose the zoning regulations prohibit. | California forbids a variance that authorizes a use or activity the zone does not already authorize. Massachusetts allows a use variance only where the local ordinance says so. | Cal. Gov. Code § 65906 |
| Special exception | A use or exception the ordinance already names and sends to the board. | Texas gives the board of adjustment a variance power and a separate special-exception power. | Tex. Local Gov’t Code §§ 211.008 and 211.009 |
Local names and local tests
A page titled zoning variance still has to use the word the code uses. Chicago’s operative heading is variation. Portland, Oregon’s chapter is adjustments. The tests below do not substitute for one another.
Names and tests in force for a departure from a zoning standard
| Place | Name in the code | Who decides | What must be shown | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York towns | Area variance or use variance | Zoning board of appeals | A use variance requires unnecessary hardship. An area variance weighs the benefit to the applicant against detriment to the neighbourhood, using five statutory factors. | Town Law § 267-b |
| New York City | Variance | Board of Standards and Appeals | Zoning Resolution 72-21 requires five findings, including unique physical conditions, and the minimum variance necessary. A reasonable-return finding is not required for a non-profit. | Zoning Resolution 72-21 |
| California | Variance | The body the local zoning ordinance names | Special circumstances of the property, such as size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings. The variance cannot authorize a use the zone does not already allow. | Gov. Code § 65906 |
| Massachusetts | Variance | Permit granting authority | Soil conditions, shape, or topography must cause a substantial hardship special to the site. A use the district prohibits needs an ordinance that expressly allows use variances. | G.L. c. 40A, § 10 |
| Chicago | Variation | Zoning Board of Appeals | Practical difficulties or particular hardship, and consistency with the purpose of the zoning ordinance. The board may grant a variation only for matters the ordinance lists. | Zoning Ordinance § 17-13-1100 |
| Portland, Oregon | Adjustment | Staff, in a Type II review | Chapter 33.805 modifies a zoning regulation. An adjustment cannot allow a use the zone does not allow, and it cannot be used to skip a conditional-use threshold. | Portland Zoning Code 33.805 |
| Texas | Variance | Board of adjustment | The variance is not contrary to the public interest, special conditions would make literal enforcement an unnecessary hardship, and the spirit of the ordinance is observed. | Local Government Code § 211.009 |
Setbacks, floor area, and the Canadian names
A setback variance is area relief. A request to raise floor area ratio can be area relief in one state and a stricter use-style variance in another. Read the local row before treating them as the same application.
Canada uses its own names for this permission, including minor variance, dérogation mineure, development variance permit, relaxation, and variance.
Outil gratuitWhat is my property zoned for?Zone code, permitted and conditional uses, and the overlays that modify them — cited to the bylaw section.Essayer →Questions fréquentes
- What is a zoning variance?
- It is permission for one property to depart from a zoning ordinance while the ordinance stays in force for other properties. The local code may call it a variance, a variation, or an adjustment.
- Is a setback variance the same as a use variance?
- No. A setback variance is relief from a dimensional standard. A use variance allows a purpose the zone prohibits. New York defines them separately. California does not allow a variance to authorize a use the zone does not already allow.
- What is a special exception?
- A special exception, special use, or conditional use is permission to make a use the ordinance already names. Texas lists it as a board power separate from a variance. It is not relief from a setback.
- Why does Chicago say variation and Portland say adjustment?
- Those are the words in the adopted codes. Chicago Zoning Ordinance § 17-13-1100 authorizes variations. Portland Zoning Code chapter 33.805 authorizes adjustments. Both can modify a standard such as a setback. Each has its own findings.